


Hardly Strange

by dirigibleplumbing



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016), The X-Files
Genre: Background Relationships, Case Fic, Crossover, F/M, Future Fic, Gen, Government Conspiracy, Interviews
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23101603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dirigibleplumbing/pseuds/dirigibleplumbing
Summary: “We’re Agents Mulder and Scully from the FBI” —they lift their open badges for Mike and El’s inspection— “and we’d like to ask you some questions about your experiences living in Hawkins, Indiana in 1983 and ’85.”El notices that he does not mention ’84, ’86, or ’87.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully (implied)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 49





	Hardly Strange

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this awhile ago and have had vague ideas of editing it heavily, but I've decided to post it now, before the next season of Stranger Things comes out. 
> 
> If, like me, you hadn’t rewatched seasons 1 or 2 of Stranger Things recently, you might have forgotten that the fake identity Dr. Owens makes for El and gives to Hopper is for “Jane Hopper.” 
> 
> Only the most superficial knowledge of the X-Files is needed to follow this fic. All you need to know is this: Fox “I want to believe” Mulder and his partner in FBI and life, Dana “evidence-based” Scully investigate the supernatural together despite their employers, the US government, the Russian government, the aliens, and everyone else wanting them to please, please stop. 
> 
> Most names and dates are from the [Stranger Things](https://strangerthings.fandom.com/wiki/Stranger_Things_Wiki) wiki. Remaining names are made up because certain characters were not named or given surnames. 
> 
> Events after October, 1985 are made up not based on anything in particular.

##  _Evanston, Illinois_

##  _October, 1997_

“Oh, and El? They’ve got a lot of _shared trauma_ ,” Murray tells her when he calls the house to warn them. 

It’s two days later that the pair of FBI agents rings the doorbell. 

“Hello,” says the tall man. “Michael and Jane Wheeler?” 

She and Mike exchange a glance, then look back at the agents. 

“We’re Agents Mulder and Scully from the FBI” —they lift their open badges for Mike and El’s inspection— “and we’d like to ask you some questions about your experiences living in Hawkins, Indiana in 1983 and ’85.” 

El notices that he does not mention ’84, ’86, or ’87. 

Some cover-ups are more successful than others, she supposes. 

Mike gives into social niceties, for the moment, offering a small, false smile and saying, “Sure. C’mon in.” He opens the door wider and begins leading them toward the couch in the front room. Over his shoulder, he says, “Not much to tell, though. Typical growing up in the midwest stuff.” 

He does not offer to make coffee, nor to take their coats. 

El does not bother smiling, having long since learned that her attempts at false ones are much more disconcerting to strangers than her customary frown. 

“Your DMV records say that you were born in Three Rivers, Michigan?” Agent Mulder asks El, before they’ve even finished sitting down. 

“Yes,” she says simply, meeting his eyes. 

“And your maiden name is White?” 

“Hopper,” she corrects him through gritted teeth. 

“Of course, Mrs. Wheeler,” Agent Scully interrupts quickly. “Mulder is referring to your birth name, prior to your adoption by Mr. Hopper.” 

“Excuse me,” Mike says. This smile shows teeth, and is as nervous as it is fake. “What is this about, exactly?” 

“Just establishing a background, totally routine,” Mulder says. His expression is pleasant, placid. 

Lying, El thinks, is exhausting. 

“Your mother was Rebecca White, is that correct?” Mulder continues. 

“Yes,” El says again. 

“Does the name Teresa Ives mean anything to you?” Mulder asks. 

El matches the blank expression on his face with one of her own, masking her building anger. “No,” she says. 

Beside her on the couch, Mike takes her hand and holds it tightly. She squeezes back. 

“Rebecca Ives? Andrew Rich?” At El’s shake of the head, Mulder says, “What about Dr. Martin Brenner?” 

“No,” she says. 

“Teresa Ives of Hawkins, Indiana, claimed that she participated in Project MKUltra. During that time, she became pregnant by her then-boyfriend, Andrew Rich. She later conceived a little girl.” The blandness of Mulder’s smile is veering toward smug now, and El hates it. “The child’s name was Jane, too. She was also born the same day as you, Mrs. Wheeler.” 

The silence that follows suggests he’s expecting a response. El does not supply him with one. 

She could say that many people share birthdays. That Jane is a common name. That such things are hardly strange—hardly noteworthy. She says nothing. 

Undaunted, Mulder plows on. “She claimed that that child was kidnapped and experimented on at the Hawkins National Laboratory. There are some who speculate that that child grew up to be you, Mrs. Wheeler.” 

“That lab shut down when we were kids,” Mike says. His voice is casual, easy, but she can feel his heart racing. El wonders if the agents, not knowing him as she does, can see his discomfort as easily as she can. “We never had much to do with it. And Jane didn’t even live in Hawkins until we were older.” 

“That’s not exactly true, though is it, Mr. Wheeler?” Agent Scully asks, raising a single orange brow. On El the expression would look angry; on Scully, it looks elegant. She leans forward, as if being closer to El and Mike will encourage them to speak, and a golden cross falls from beneath her shirt and dangles from her slender neck. “In 1984, the Lab acknowledged responsibility for the death of Barbara Holland. Ms. Holland was a close friend of your sister, Nancy, wasn’t she?” 

Mike shrugs tightly. “I guess so. There was a leak or something, right?” 

“That’s the official reason, yes,” Scully agrees. Her eyes flick to Agent Mulder’s with an expression El can’t read. 

Mulder just returns her smile, then turns back to Mike and El. “Did you know,” he says, tone conversational, “that in 1983, a man named Daniel Faulkner claimed to have seen a girl—a girl the same age as you, at the time, Mrs. Wheeler—smash the doors of the Hawkins grocery store where he worked, using only the power of her mind?” 

Mike draws a breath like he might speak, but it seems Mulder is just getting going. 

“Two of your classmates, James Robbins and Troy Anderson, claim to this day that they encountered a girl with powerful telekinetic powers, the very same autumn that Faulkner reported the incident at the store,” Mulder continues. “According to statements given to the Hawkins Police Department at the time, the girl used her supernatural ability to knock James to the ground and break Troy’s arm. All without lifting a finger.” 

“How strange,” El says. Her voice is perfectly level. 

Scully is sitting up straight, now, glancing between Mike, El, and Mulder with a gaze that is at once distant and attentive. Like a scientist observing an experiment. 

“James and Troy mentioned that the girl looked just like the girl you took to your middle school’s winter dance.” This Mulder addresses to Mike. “The same girl you dated throughout the years following, and eventually married.” 

“We weren’t really friends with James and Troy,” Mike says, squinting and trying to look thoughtful, like he’s remembering something boring and ordinary. “I don’t think Jane knew them at all.” 

“I didn’t,” El agrees. 

“Your father, James Hopper, was Chief of Police of Hawkins at the time, wasn’t he?” Scully asks. 

El wonders how these agents have put together the information that they have so far. It’s more complete than she thought possible. She turns her gaze to Scully’s. The agent is wearing a dark blazer with shoulder pads and coordinated pumps that don’t look practical for field work. She’s facing Mike and El, but her body is pointed toward Mulder. Their breathing, El notices, is in sync. 

Shared trauma, indeed. 

“My father oversaw a lot of cases,” El replies. “I didn’t really pay attention.” 

“More interested in shopping and boys, huh?” Mulder asks. He doesn’t sound like he thinks it’s true. 

“Yes,” El says. 

Mike clears his throat. “Agent Mulder, Agent Scully,” he says, “what is this about, really?” 

Neither of the agents show concern or surprise at Mike’s direct questioning. “What happened at Starcourt Mall on July 4, 1985?” Mulder asks. 

“There was a fire,” El says. 

Scully dips forward once more. “Where were you that night, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler?” 

“We were at my house,” Mike replies. “Y’know, my parents’ old house. Doing CB radio stuff. We radioed our friend Dustin’s girlfriend in Salt Lake City.” 

“Impressive range,” Scully notes. 

Mike shrugs. “We were really into AV. Had a club at school and everything.” 

“We spoke to Mr. Henderson,” Mulder begins, a look on his face El has seen before during the final rounds of a hand on poker night. “He said you played Dungeons and Dragons.” 

“We probably did both,” Mike says. “Radios, D&D, listening to records—that would’ve been a wild night by our standards.” 

“You didn’t go to the festival?” Scully asks. 

“No,” El says. 

“We liked to do our own thing,” Mike says. 

“Can you explain why multiple eyewitnesses place not only you and Dustin Henderson, but also Murray Bauman, Joyce Byers, your sister Nancy, her boyfriend Jonathan Byers, your friends Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair, Erica Sinclair, Maxine Mayfield, Steve Harrington, and Robin Buckley at the mall that night?” Mulder’s tone has shifted. He’s not being uncivil, or unfriendly, but he’s no longer being friendly, either. 

“They’re clearly remembering wrong,” Mike says. 

Mulder presses on. “Can you explain why Chief Hopper was reported dead in the fire, only to reappear in 1987?” 

“Mistakes happen,” El replies. 

“ _The Chicago Sun-Times_ retracted their article regarding Hopper’s death,” Mike puts in. So did every other newspaper. But, El supposes, there are still records of those articles. “They mis-identified a body, is all.” 

Mulder is unperturbed by the non-answers. “Can you explain the eyewitness statements regarding military helicopters converging on the mall?” he asks. “Or government agents in hazmat suits?” 

Mike’s face is convincingly confused. “Why would we know anything about that kind of thing?” 

“We were kids,” El states, as if this reiterates what Mike has just said. 

“So you’re denying, both of you, any knowledge of the disappearance of Will Byers, Barbara Holland, and Bob Newby? Your close friend, that friend’s mother’s partner, and your sister’s close friend? You deny knowledge of Byers’ unexplained re-appearance? Of the closure of Hawkins National Laboratory? Of the Starcourt Mall fire and the presence of the U.S. Military there?” Mulder doesn’t sound surprised. He’s frustrated, but not angry. And maybe, El thinks, bitter. 

El restrains herself from picking at the hems of the oversized flannel shirt she’s wearing over her t-shirt. “Agent Mulder,” she says, meeting his eyes, keeping her voice steady, “what do you think happened?” 

Scully sighs and looks away. 

Mulder appears pleased that she asked, if in a sardonic way. “I think that your mother, Teresa Ives, was unlawfully experimented upon while pregnant. I think that both she and you developed psychic and telekinetic powers as a result of these experiments. I think that Dr. Brenner kidnapped you and held you prisoner at Hawkins National Laboratory, where he conducted further experiments, experiments related to interdimensional travel. I think that when Teresa Ives confronted him about it, he did something to her that locked her into the vegetative state she is in to this day. I think that in 1983, Dr. Brenner’s experiments opened a gate to another dimension.” 

Mulder’s voice is eager, earnest. El holds perfectly still, so as not to squirm at how correct he is so far. He should not have half the information that he does. He should not be putting himself, his partner, and El’s family in danger like this. 

“I think,” Mulder continues, “that Will Byers and Barbara Holland were transported to this dimension and trapped there. I think that you escaped the lab, freed Byers, and closed the gate. You must’ve been unable to free Barbara Holland, or else she was already dead. Then someone—or something—opened it again, in 1985. It was open, and something came through, something responsible for all those deaths. You all—your friends, and Joyce Byers, Murray Bauman, and James Hopper—stopped that something and closed the gate behind it, resulting in the Starcourt Mall fire.” 

El cocks her head. “If that were true,” she says, “what reason would we have to tell you?” 

For the first time since he’s sat down in their living room, Mulder looks distressed. Disappointed. “Because it’s the truth,” he bites out. He recovers his composure quickly. “They got you scared, huh?” 

Scully’s eyes contain sympathy, now. Resignation. 

El shakes her head slowly. “I’m not scared of the government, Agent Mulder.” 

Realization crosses Mulder’s face like the sun dawning over the horizon. Hope crosses it next. “Mrs. Wheeler, what if I told you that there’s evidence of an unstable magnetic field increasing in size, originating at the site of the former Starcourt Mall?” 

El gets to her feet. Mike does the same. “I can’t help you, Mr. Mulder,” she says. Her voice might not be completely even, any more. 

Mulder lets out a short, frustrated sigh as he and Scully move to stand as well. “People are in danger!” 

El closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them, she’s looking at Mike. He stares back. He’ll follow her lead on this, whatever happens. Of that she has no doubt. 

She turns back to Mulder and Scully. “Contact Dr. Owens. That’s all I have to say about it.” 

“Dr. Sam Owens, formerly of the U.S. Department of Energy?” Scully asks. 

El nods. 

“He’s dead,” Scully says. 

“What,” Mike says, sharply. 

“When?” El asks. 

“A week ago,” Mulder replies. “Two bullets to the head.” 

“Local police have dropped the investigation,” Scully adds. “No leads.” 

El wonders if there was evidence related to Hawkins and the Upside-Down in Owens’ home, if that’s how the FBI got their information. She dismisses the idea just as quickly as it occurred; Dr. Owens wouldn’t have left any records. 

“Does Will know?” Mike asks. “About Dr. Owens?” 

“Will Byers is next on our list of interviews,” Scully replies. 

“Why should we trust you?” El demands. 

Agent Mulder looks a bit giddy, El thinks. He gives an exaggerated shrug. “We’re all you’ve got,” he says with a grin. 

El looks again to Mike. He holds her gaze, resolute. 

“Fine,” El snaps. She doesn’t bother to rein in her anger. She doesn’t want to do this, any of this. She feels like a teenager again. It’s not a good feeling. “We’re going with you.” 

It takes little concentration to mentally twist the handle of the front door and swing it wide open. It bounces against the spring stop with a clang. In front of the building, the agents’ rented sedan clicks unlocked and the passenger doors pop open as well. 

After a moment’s consideration, she winds the front windows down. The sun is out, and it’s hot for October. 

Mulder is vibrating with glee. “Scully! Did you see that?” He grins at her. El thinks he’s barely holding back giddy laughter. 

“I saw it, Mulder,” she says, with the tone of a fond, patient parent. 

El takes Mike’s hand and starts out the door. 

“You won’t regret this,” Mulder assures her, following after them. 

El is pretty sure she will. 


End file.
